What you can do to support ACA 8, the measure that would end involuntary servitude (slavery) for prison inmates in California. ACA 8 has the strong support of the Quaker lobby in Sacramento, Friends Committee on Legislation of California.
History of Slavery in California
The legacy of slavery and forced labor runs deep in California’s history, from the exploitation of Indigenous people in Spanish missions to Black people who were enslaved and forced to mine for gold. This legacy goes as far back as the first iteration of the California State Constitution, introduced in 1849, that stated: “Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this State” (Article I, Sec. 18). The following year, the racist Indian Indenture Act criminalized everyday behavior in CA, allowing any white man who “found” an “Indian” loitering, unemployed, frequenting public places where liquor was sold, begging, or leading an “immoral” life to take that charge before a judge. The judge would then order the Indian seized and sold at public auctions (Provision 20).
In 1850, the federal Fugitive Slave Act required governments and any white person to recapture people who escaped from slave-holding jurisdictions – meaning any person brought to California before statehood as a slave would legally remain a slave. California additionally passed its own Fugitive Labor Act in 1852, essentially suspending the state constitution’s anti slavery clause, allowing free Blacks to be re-enslaved.
In 1855, the Greaser Act legalized the arrest of individuals with "Spanish and Indian blood" who were perceived as violating California’s anti-vagrancy statute. Although CA joined the Union as a “free state,” a slave market flourished here from 1850 to 1870. While slave trafficking faded out in the 1870s, it was tragically in large part due to the genocide of Native Americans.
In 1865, Congress passed the 13th Amendment, which ended chattel slavery nationwide but allowed slavery to exist in other forms. This slavery “exception clause” remains in both the U.S. Constitution and our State Constitution.
Modern-Day Slavery in California
Slavery did not end after the Civil War. Continuing through the early 1940s, African Americans were “leased out” to plantation owners and manufacturers as cheap labor. This leasing system was replaced by “chain gangs” – a dehumanizing practice of chaining together incarcerated people to perform manual labor – that many states including California profited from.
The practice of forced prison labor and remnants of slavery are embedded throughout California’s system of incarceration today. Although no courts explicitly order forced labor at criminal sentencing, finding authority in the constitution, it is standard practice to force incarcerated people to perform labor, often in dangerous conditions, against their will.
More than 95,000 Californians are currently incarcerated in our state prison system with significant racial disparities. African Americans account for 28% of the prison population but are less than 6% of California’s overall population. In addition, the lifetime chances of a person going to prison are higher for Blacks (16.2%) and Latinos (9.4%) than for whites (2.5%).
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the State leaned on incarcerated workers to produce hand sanitizer, soaps, and masks. Incarcerated people were not allowed to use the products they made to keep themselves safe. Any concerns raised about endangering their own health and their lives were met with threats of harsh punishment. In fact, incarcerated people have long faced cruel treatment for any work absences: physical violence, solitary confinement, denial of phone calls and family visits, and limiting participation in self-help groups, and disciplinary write-ups that result in longer prison terms. Such punishments, or threats of such punishments, are often issued even when absences are due to illness or injuries sustained through the work.
Furthermore, research illustrates the well-documented psychological and emotional trauma laid by the hands of modern-day slavery and forced labor. Survivors of modern slavery experience post-traumatic stress disorder, lack of autonomy, and diminished sense of self.
Dissolving the remnants of slavery and racial inequity is more important now than ever before. California is only 1 of 16 states that still allows legalized constitutional slavery – and it lags behind other states in removing slavery from its state constitution. In 2022, Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont joined other states that had recently passed state constitutional amendments prohibiting both slavery and involuntary servitude (Nebraska and Utah in 2020; Colorado in 2018). In 2020, U.S. Senator Merkley (OR) introduced a resolution to remove involuntary servitude as a punishment for crime from the U.S. Constitution.
Solution
The End Slavery in CA Act (ACA 8) would allow Californians the opportunity to vote to amend Article 1, Section 6 of the State Constitution to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude without exception.
For more information contact: Aldo Garcia, Assembly Fellow, Aldo.Garcia@asm.ca.gov or (916) 319-2011
Co-Sponsors
The 10P Program
A New Way of Life
Abolish Slavery National Network
ACLU California Action
Aging People in Prison Human Rights Campaign All of Us or None
Anti-Recidivism Coalition
Anti-Violence Safety and Accountability Project ASCRIBE
Asian Prisoner Support Committee
California Lawyers for the Arts
Coalition for a Just and Equitable California Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice EDIFYE
Freedom United
GLIDE Foundation
Homies Unidos
Impact Justice
Just Cities
Legal Aid at Work
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
March On
Norcal Resist
Pride In Truth
Prison from the Inside Out
Represent Justice
Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition
Starting Over Inc.
The Love We Don’t See
TimeDone
Village Advocates
Youth Leadership Institute
Thank you to those of you who were able to make it to our meeting earlier today. We shared some positive updates as we are pleased to report that ACA 8 FINALLY got referred out of the Senate Rules committee and will be moving through the Senate Public Safety, Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments committee, Appropriations, and then the Senate floor for our final vote. We are aiming to get through all of this by June 27th in order to qualify ACA 8 for the upcoming November ballot.
Let's keep the pressure on! Please reach out to your Senate representatives and make sure that they are in support of ACA 8. Let's continue to outreach to the Governor's office as well!
Call (916) 445-2841
Utilize this action link from our fellow ACA 8 cosponsors ACLU Cal Action. Also, here is our ACA 8 social media toolkit.
Other Senate targets include:
Capitol Office: 1021 O Street, Suite 733 Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4410
District Office (Fremont):
Phone: (510) 794-3900
Chair of Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments: Senator Blakespear
Capitol Office:1021 O Street, Suite 7340 Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 651-4038
Laguna Hills District office: Phone: (949) 598-5850
Encinitas District office: Phone: (760) 642-0809
Capitol Office: 1021 O Street, Suite 7620 Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4014
Fresno District Office: 2550 Mariposa Mall, Suite 2016 Fresno, CA 93721
Phone: (559) 264-3070
Senate Protem: Senator McGuire
Capitol Office: 1021 O St., Suite 8518 Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 651-4002
Santa Rosa District Office: (707) 576-2771
San Rafael District Office: (415) 479-6612
Capitol Office: 1021 O Street, Suite 7720 Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4033
Long Beach District Office: 3939 Atlantic Ave., Suite 107 Long Beach, CA 90807
Phone: (562) 256-7921
Lastly, we are still looking to mobilize an action in June to help get us over the finish line! We want to organize with our Faith community so please reach out if you are connected to any networks that include faith leaders and organizations that may be willing to get loud about ACA 8! More updates are coming soon.
In pursuit of liberation,
Jeronimo Cuauhtemoc Aguilar
--
Policy Analyst
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children-All of Us or None
4400 Market Street
Oakland, CA 94608
cell:530.405.6178
www.abolishbondagecollectively.org
jeronimo@prisonerswithchildren.org
"We urge you to speak out, don't be afraid to lose false friends. One action is worth a thousand meaningless, compromised bills. Because one work, one courageous stand based on principle, will set the example for all of our people". - Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales
